


damn, i’d be your lover

by bimissybooth



Category: Ackley Bridge (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Like ridiculously fluffy, M/M, Rated T for swearing, alya is a lesbian and has the most bde, coffee shop AU, cory is a bicon, i cant settle on a sexuality for chloe but she is defo not straight, i have no idea what im doing, naveed is a comedy KING, they swear a lot fjgkgh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-06-16 17:29:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15442185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bimissybooth/pseuds/bimissybooth
Summary: Chloe Voyle always thought that "love at first sight" bullshit was just that, bullshit.(au where chloe and naveed didn't move to ackley bridge - instead they meet each other on a performing arts course at uni, become best friends and work in starbucks together. they meet some handsome strangers, you know the drill.)





	1. black coffee

**Author's Note:**

> this is dedicated to all the gays from the discord, i love y'all xxx
> 
> shout out to mebs especially for proofreading!
> 
> its also my first time writing fanfic properly, pls be gentle with me lmao
> 
> (title is from girlfriend by christine and the queens)

"One black coffee please, Chlo," Naveed said to his coworker.

"Coming right up."

Chloe hummed to herself whilst she waited for the hot water. It had been a steady day - not too busy, not too quiet - and working with Naveed always made things more enjoyable, but she was so ready for it to be over.

"Black coffee for Alya?" Chloe shouted.

"Thanks," a voice like crystallised honey cut through the hubbub of the coffee shop.

Chloe looked up to find quite possibly the prettiest girl in the world looking at her.

On second thought, no, "pretty" was not the right word for her. "Pretty" didn't even begin to cover this goddess of a girl, with her hot chocolatey eyes, her swooping eyelashes, her flawless brown skin, the almost-smile on the edge of her lips, her endless jawline, her perfectly colour-coordinated hijab and handbag.

Chloe Voyle always thought that "love at first sight" bullshit was just that, bullshit. But  _ damn _ , this Alya girl was  _ hot _ .

"Take a picture," Alya smirked as she turned away. "It'll last longer."

Chloe found herself speechless, something that didn't happen all that often. And just as suddenly as Alya had appeared, she was gone.

"Trying to catch flies, eh?" Naveed pointed at her wide-open mouth. 

"Piss off," Chloe shoved him good-naturedly.

"She's cute," he said. "If you're into girls."

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes. "Because you'd know all about that?"

"Of course! The ladies love Naveed!"

They laughed until their manager told them to get back to work.

*

The next day, Alya came back. 

Chloe's mood instantly lifted as soon as she saw her, only to plummet a second later. Alya wasn't alone.

Her arm was wrapped around a tall, good-looking boy with dark floppy hair. _ Great. She's got a boyfriend. That's just great. _

"Shit," Naveed whisper-shouted. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

Without any warning, he grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her beneath the counter.

"What the fuck man?" Chloe asked. "Are you okay?"

"Did you see that guy that just walked in?" Chloe nodded. "Long story short, I pulled him last weekend, I gave him my number and he still hasn't texted or nothing."

"That's great!" Chloe punched his arm. "Well, him not texting you obviously isn't, but you know what I mean. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to him! Why the fuck are we hiding?"

"Because I don't want him to see me!"

"Bullshit!" Before Naveed could even open his mouth, Chloe had dragged him back up to a standing position.

Alya and the boy were standing chatting at the counter. They gave Naveed and Chloe some quizzical looks.

"Hello," Chloe beamed at them.

Alya smiled back and Chloe was a goner.

How did she get even more gorgeous when she smiled? Surely that couldn't be possible?

"Aren't you going to take our orders?" Alya spoke slowly and bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile.

"Uh... yeah, yeah," Chloe shook herself out of her reverie. "What can I get for you?"

"One black coffee and one strawberries and cream frappe."

"Sure thing." She turned away to make the drinks.

"Alright, Naveed?" The boy winked. He actually  _ winked _ .

"Uhhhhh... Can you excuse me for one moment, please?" Without waiting for an answer, Naveed pivoted and speed walked as fast as is socially acceptable to the storeroom.

Chloe turned away from the coffee machine to see what the issue was. “Fuck’s sake,” she cursed quietly. But not quietly enough, apparently.

“Excuse me?” Alya raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. Now this,  _ this _ , was peak hotness-

Alya coughed, waking Chloe from yet another daydream.

"Um, sorry... about him," Chloe  gestured vaguely at the storeroom . "He's uh... well... I'll be right back."

“Nah, I’ll go talk to him,” the boy said, hopping up onto the countertop.

“Uh… customers aren’t allowed…” He flashed Chloe an easy grin and was gone before she could finish her sentence. 

“...behind the counter.” She put her head in her hands. “I better not get fired over this.”

“It’d be nice if I could have that coffee today,  _ Chloe _ .” 

Her head snapped up. “How do you know my name?” Not that she was complaining - she actually wouldn’t mind hearing Alya saying her name in that melodic tone everyday for the rest of her life…

“It’s on your name badge,” she pointed to Chloe’s chest, clearly trying her hardest not to dissolve into laughter.

“Oh shit,” Chloe look downwards and kicked herself internally.  _ This girl has really just killed my last two brain cells, huh.  _ “Yeah… so it is.”

“I want to speak to your manager. The customer service here is simply  _ appalling _ , I’ve been waiting 10 minutes for one measly black coffee, one barista ran off with my best friend, and the other is really very cute, but sadly has the intellect of a twelve year old.”

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh.  _ Is this bitch for real?  _ Normal she’d be fuming if someone insulted her intelligence (she’d gotten a 8 in A Level English Lit and she was fucking proud of it), but there was something about this girl… her words should’ve been like venom, yet there was no sting behind them. 

“You uh… you think I’m cute?”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s the part you’d focus on. But yeah, for the record, I think you’re  _ very _ cute.”


	2. skinny haider

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW THIS CHAPTER IS LIKE 8456785 YEARS LATE AND THEN IT WAS MEANT TO BE OLLIES BIRTHDAY PRESENT bdfhgsdfhs but better late than never huh? thanks to mebs for proofreading and the rest of the gang for all the love and encouragement <3 i'll be posting the third and final chapter in june as part of my ackley pride celebration (check it out on my tumblr @crisanahands!)

"Can I get a fucking, uhhhhhh, skinny Haider please."

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. "Do you want milk with that?" She replied, deadpan. Cory laughed, and she joined in. Despite not knowing each other very long, they got along well. This amused and annoyed Alya to no end.

"You guys are so weird," Alya gave Cory a shove, but she was smiling.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Aw, you know you love me really."

Alya stared him down from over her sunglasses. If looks could kill...

"I do wonder about you sometimes," Cory shook his head and turned to Chloe. "Anyway, where is the little ice skater today?" 

"Through the back," Chloe pointed. Cory hopped over the counter. He was getting quite good at it now. "Oh, and Cory?" He glanced back before going to the storeroom. "For the love of god, please,  _please,_ don't make a mess. I'm always the one that has to tidy it up."

"No promises," He grinned and the back room swallowed him up. Chloe shook her head, sighing.

The day was wearing on; it was nearing closing time. The last few stragglers were finishing their cappuccinos and carrot cakes. Some acoustic indie shit was playing through the speakers (Chloe actually didn't mind it but she'd never tell anyone). Silence grew between the two girls. Alya broke it.

"Don't tell anyone this - it could seriously ruin my street cred - but I used to think I was in love with him, you know." She was smiling, but it was different this time. Wistful.

"Wait- you... Cory?" Chloe laughed disbelievingly. 

"I know - I'm  _way_ out of his league." She scoffed, and then casually added, "And I'm a lesbian."

 _Oh, wig?_ Chloe thought. She couldn't help remembering the time Alya called her cute...  _very_ cute, in fact. 

"Uh, nice!" Chloe mentally slapped herself.  _She had the guts to come out to me and I just said "nice"? Wow. Woooooow._

Alya laughed. It could've been scathing, mocking but it was like she was laughing  _with_ Chloe instead of  _at_ her. Alya's laugh was like champagne: it made Chloe's head feel light and her stomach burst with butterflies. She wanted to make her laugh again and again and again.

A loud crash interrupted her train of thought. _F_ _uck. FUUUUUUUUCK._

She screwed up her eyes and put her head in her hands. "Please tell me I imagined that." 

Distant laughter and a yelp followed from the storeroom. Alya bit back a smile. "Unfortunately not."

"Oh my god, we are so fucking dead," Chloe groaned. "Can you go look first, let me know how bad it is?"

Alya's smile lit up her face. "What happened to 'no customers behind the counter'?"

"Fuck- fuck off, Alya."  _Fuck, she's gorgeous._

Now it was her turn to come over the counter. Whilst Alya hopped onto the counter and swung her legs over with ease and grace, Chloe had to put every ounce of thought into putting one foot in front of the other and acting like a functioning human being.

"IT WASN'T ME," Cory shouted as he ran from the back room. He was breathless and much more tousled than he had been a few minutes ago. "Honest."

"We'll see about that," Alya marched away to investigate, Chloe trailing after her.

The back room was primarily a store for coffee beans and other ingredients, with a small side kitchen for food prep. Naveed was sitting in the doorway of the kitchen with his hands knotted in his hair.

"Nav..." Chloe started.

"Chloe, mate," he looked up. "I don't know what to say." He giggled, on the verge of hysterics.

"Shit. Is it that bad?"

"See for yourself," he stood up shakily. "I better go and close up. It's almost five."

He went back to the counter, leaving the girls alone once again.

"Well," Chloe took a deep breath. "Can't be that bad, can it?"

"God, the suspense is killing me," Alya grabbed Chloe's hand and it was like pure electricity shooting through her veins. Time stopped. It had never felt like this with any of her previous boyfriends or one night stands. How ironic; Chloe had spent her whole life making fun of Valentine's Day and cheesy romcoms and PDA, and here she was, a complete and utter mess because a pretty girl was holding her hand.

_Alya Nawaz. Is holding. My hand._

_I hope she never lets go._


End file.
